Memory Lane
by Miss Megz
Summary: Side stories to my crossover "Faith Cannot Set You Free". Can be read without reading the story. Drabbles of Chris' time with Johnny before he became a vampire. Rated for my mouth...and Johnny's. This is pure fluff
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Vassalord, I can't remember who does…BUT IT'S NOT ME!

It had been approximately a week since Christopher had figured out that Father Richard was a vampire and approximately a week since the clergymen kept finding Christopher missing from his bed when they would go check on the children before heading to bed themselves. It hadn't taken any of them very long to discover that the young child would go see the vampiric priest. Of course the boy was scolded but they were all secretly happy that he had opened up to someone. Since his "Master" had dropped him off five years ago, he had been reluctant to open up or talk to anyone. Besides, the clergy knew that Father Richard wouldn't let anything happen to the boy and still made sure he got a decent night's sleep. Finally the Bishop decided to simply look the other way at Christopher's outings with the resident vampire. This did not mean that he was above the rules, if he was caught before he made it to the priest, he would be sent right back to bed but after he found Father Richard, it was up to the priest who found him to deal with him.

Tonight Father Richard and Chris were up on the Church's roof looking at the stars. Neither were speaking and the silence was starting to eat at Chris. "What's it like to be a vampire?" He finally asked; the question had been on his mind since he had found out but hadn't had the nerve to ask the man it.

Father Richard looked over at Chris and was quiet as he thought about an answer he could give the child. "Long and lonely, I guess," he shrugged and looked back up at the stars.

Chris sat up and stared at the priest, "how can it be lonely? You're going to live for a long time! You can make so many friends!"

The dark-haired man shook his head, "friends that you get to watch grow old and die while you stay young forever."

"Can't you make vampire friends?" Chris asked.

Again, he shook his head, "one of two things will happen with two vampires that aren't Master and Childe; one, the two will become friends and forget what little humanity they have left because they no longer hang around humans or two, they will attempt to destroy each other for control of the city." He looked at the blond-haired boy, "vampires are quite territorial."

"Then why don't you make a vampire to be your friend?" The boy asked.

"Not many humans can handle the lifestyle of being a vampire and expose themselves to the sun after a decade or two. It's upsetting for a Master Vampire to one day wake up and find the fledgling you put so much effort and emotion into is nothing more than a pile of dust at the window. You can hear their cries as the sun burns them and you're helpless to go to their aid because the sun will burn you as well," the vampire sighed and looked over at the boy, "those screams stick with you for the rest of your days."

Christopher nodded solemnly and lay back down on the roof of the church. He could tell by how the priest talked, he had had a fledgling expose themselves to the sun while he was trapped in his coffin. He decided to switch the conversation in a safer direction, "you said vampires are territorial. How big is your territory?"

The man nodded, "I did. The size of territory depends on the power of the vampire and their desire to keep undesirables out. My territory is pretty much from this church to the ruins beyond the city."

The nine year-old blinked, "does that mean you're weak?"

Father Richard sat up suddenly and looked offended for a moment but it passed because it was just an innocent question. He lay back down and shook his head, "actually I'm one of the stronger vampires out there. I don't need a big area to defend and with the war going on I don't need to look far too get a meal."

Chris had almost forgotten that being a vampire meant drinking blood. He felt something drop into the pit of his stomach but had to ask anyways, "what do you drink, Father Richard?"

"Hmm?" He had been lost in thought for a moment from looking at the stars; he remembered the question a few seconds after Chris had got his attention, "recently dead soldiers mostly. Sometimes I get lucky and find one that hasn't died yet. On the rare occasion I even get something fresh."

Chris paled, "something fresh?"

"Yeah, don't you think it's odd that no opposing soldiers have attacked the church or the city despite its prime location?" Father Richard asked.

The boy stopped and thought for a moment, "you eat the enemy soldiers?"

"When they attempt to take over the city or use the church as a base," Father Richard replied, "like I said, vampires are territorial and will kill anything they see as a threat to themselves or those living in their territory." He saw Chris' downfallen expression. "Besides, it's one of the terms given to me by the Bishop in order to stay here."

Chris brightened a little, "would you still protect us even if it wasn't?" The vampire of course knew that Chris meant if he would protect him.

Father Richard chuckled and nodded, "of course! You think me that heartless?" He pretended to pout at the last part and Christopher laughed.

"You are a black-hearted fiend," he laughed.

"That hurts! Maybe I should just eat you," he sat up and growled at the boy. Christopher leapt up to "attack" the priest but slipped on some loose shingles and was heading head first to the ground.

"Master!" He screamed and was caught by a black mass. He recognized the bats and his expression lit up, "Master?" The bats lowered him to the ground and reformed into Father Richard. The boy looked down in disappointment then back at the priest, "thank you, Father."

Father Richard had been told by the clergy that the boy still desperately missed the man he called "Master" and he wanted desperately to tell Chris that he was the vampire he still cried out for in his sleep but couldn't. The boy needed to live around humans, not vampires. _My__selfishness__has__to__stop__at__just__being__the__vampiric__Father__Richard__around__Chris_ the vampire mentally scolded himself.

"Come on Christopher, we should get you to bed," the vampire sighed and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Can we fly through the window, Father Richard, like last time?" Chris asked hopefully.

Father Richard laughed and picked the boy up, "sure." He transformed into a few bats to fly but mostly kept his human shape and transformed fully into bats so they both could fit through the dorm room's open window. The bats swirled around his bed and pulled the covers up to Chris' shoulders and then reformed into the priest, "good night, Christopher."

"Goodnight, Father Richard," the boy yawned and rolled over to sleep. Father Richard left through the window but hovered outside for a moment to hear Chris cry quietly to himself. "Master, I miss you," he sobbed. The vampire almost flew back into the room but stopped himself.

"Sorry Chris, you belong in the world of light, not my world of darkness," he slowly lowered himself to the ground and headed toward his own room, "Lord, please watch over Chris and help him get over the loss of his 'Master'. He deserves better than a vampire."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Vassalord

Christopher anxiously got dressed for the upcoming priest coronation. All the men who had trained to become priests were now going to be awarded for their hard work. This also meant that Father Richard had to be awake because all current priests had to be in attendance; it was one of the rare times that the boy got to see the vampire during the day. Unable to contain himself he bounced to Father Richard's room to talk with the priest as he got ready. "Father Richard!" The nine year old called when he opened the door.

"Shut the damn door, Christopher! I don't have the UV on yet!" He yelled. Chris quickly shut the door and the priest came out from his hiding spot in the bathroom.

"Sorry, Father," the boy apologized sheepishly.

The vampire shook his head and examined the burn spot on his cheek in the mirror; it wasn't so much a burn as it was complete disintegration of the tissue that had been exposed to the sun. Father Richard had been lucky it was only morning otherwise the hole in his head would have been much bigger. "You have to remember to know, Christopher Michael," he scolded.

"I'm sorry, Father," Chris looked at the injury on the priest and panicked, "are you alright?"

Father Richard sighed, "just get me a bandage from the first aid kit and I'll be fine." Christopher ran out the door and the vampire had to quickly duck into the bathroom again to avoid being hit by the sun. When the door shut, he quickly locked it so Chris would have to knock first. "That kid is going to be the death of me," he mumbled.

Christopher tried to throw open the door but found it locked. "Father, it's me," he called through and a minute later heard the door click. This time he opened the door slowly; the vampire was hiding in the bathroom again. "I brought some bandages," the boy held out the pile of first aid supplies. The priest looked at the pile and laughed.

"Christopher! It's not THAT big!" He laughed. He sifted through the pile and found a gauze pad and skin tape. After the injury was hidden, the vampiric priest grabbed something Chris could barely see and stepped into the bathroom.

"What is that?" The boy asked.

"The UV I had cut for today. It'll shield me from the sun," he explained.

"Why didn't you put that on before the gauze?" Chris asked.

"The tape won't stick to it," he answered and stepped out fully dressed. With the UV on, it was pretty much invisible; the only sign it was there was the shimmering over the gauze.

The two arrived in time for the celebration but were cutting it close. Chris took his spot in the pews and Father Richard got lectured by the Bishop before taking his spot with the other priests. Everyone who wasn't a clergy member was surprised to see the nocturnal priest up so early; despite the fact that the priest bedside him had to keep nudging him awake. At the end of the sermon, each new priest was called up to be blessed by the Bishop and ushered into a side room to have the church's dark secret revealed to them. Father Richard was of course excused from this seeing as how he WAS the dark secret and it was much easier to get new priests to accept a vampire if said vampire wasn't in the room, no matter now non-threatening he tried to be. Father Richard had begun to head back to bed when Chris stopped him, he knew how tired the vampiric priest would be but this was too rare an opportunity to pass up. "Father Richard, I don't get to see you by day," Christopher started and looked at the ground, almost ashamed to ask the priest of something so selfish.

The priest picked up on what Chris wanted and nodded, "alright, I've got the UV on and it won't kill me to stay up for another hour or two but no more." The boy jumped up in excitement at the thought of being able to spend the day with his favorite priest. The vampire concealed a yawn as he let the excited child drag him onto the grounds. Christopher had managed to keep the vampire's attention for about an hour but being up during the day was starting to take its toll on the undead man and he would start nodding off while they were walking. Chris finally had to settle on sitting under a big oak tree with his half-asleep companion.

"What are the Bishop and other priests telling the new priests in that room?" The blonde haired boy inquired.

The priest let out a toothy yawn and Chris couldn't help but stare at the impressive dental work of the vampire. He was tempted to touch one of the long pointed fangs but decided it was best not to just in case the priest accidentally chose that moment to bite down. "More than likely about me," he finally answered and snuggled into a more comfortable position under the tree.

"Why aren't you in there then?" He asked.

"It's easier for new priests to accept my presence when I'm not there 'provoking them'," the vampire answered and threw an arm over his eyes to shield them from the sun, "besides, the last time I WAS there I was too tired to defend myself properly and spent a week in my coffin regenerating from my waist down."

"You were missing your lower half?" Christopher looked at the vampire, shocked.

The vampire laughed at nodded, "the top part of me managed to avoid the sun after the UV was ripped off but my legs weren't so lucky."

"Who attacked you?" The boy was suddenly on his feet, ready to avenge the vampire.

"I don't really remember his name, he was moved to a different church shortly after," the priest shrugged.

"Why did he attack you?" The boy asked.

The priest shrugged again, "he had been attacked by a vampire, same as you. Only he firmly believed that all vampires were monsters to be exterminated." Chris looked down at the ground; he remembered when he had said those hurtful words to the priest. The priest gave another toothy yawn and stretched, "I hate to break it to you, Christopher, but I can't stay awake any longer." The vampiric priest stood up and wandered off to his room to sleep the rest of the day away. Chris watched him leave and made a silent promise to protect the odd priest.

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><p>Hey everyone! I need a first name for "Father Richard" so lets hear some suggestions!<p> 


	3. Christmas Special

Disclaimer: I don't own Vassalord …I'm sorry my Christmas fic was so late coming up

And since only **one** person offered a name for "Father Richard" Johnny's full name is now "Father Aaron Richard".

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><p>Christopher had been looking forward and dreading this day all month; December 25; Christmas Day. The church had been decorated by both the orphans and the clergymen and a large tree stood in a corner in both the girl and boy's dormitory. The church's choir had been practicing Christmas songs since November and were ready for their performance; every year the Church held a Christmas party for the town with a buffet, prayers, and of course presents. Due to the war, the Church had been unable to get someone to dress up and pretend to be Saint Nicholas (that could pass as Santa anyways). The party would start around sunset and not end until midnight. It usually started with prayers, dinner, a service, presents, and then mingling and dancing. He couldn't wait to take part in the festivities but was worried about Father Richard, Christmas was a holy holiday and his beloved priest <em>was<em> a vampire.

The young boy had managed to escape unnoticed from the priest watching them make Christmas trees out of construction paper to go visit with Father Richard until the sun set. Chris remembered to knock on the door this time and heard the lock click open; giving the priest time to get out of the sun's path, he opened the door. Father Richard was sitting on the lid of his coffin hold a pair of ear plugs. "What are the ear plugs for, Father Richard?" Chris asked.

"It's so my ears don't start bleeding while the prayers and service is going on," Aaron Richard answered, "a vampire can't listen to scripture…or say it. That's why I don't ever do services or prayers."

The blonde boy sat on the lid next to the priest and looked up at him with wide questioning eyes, "what happens if you say it?"

"My lungs and throat have tissue disintegrate and blood starts to fill my lungs and throat," the priest answered and Chris looks queasy. Father Aaron laughed and ruffled the boy's hair, "you shouldn't have asked if you didn't want to hear the answer."

Morbid curiosity got the better of the young boy, "…what happens if you hear it?"

"My ear drums implode and indescribable pain shoots up the side of my head," he answered and showed the plugs to Chris, "that's what these are for, if I can't hear the scripture, it can't affect me."

"But what about when we all have to answer with scripture?" Christopher Michael asked.

"I just mouth the words. As long I don't say any of it, I'm fine. So many people are talking that no one even notices that I'm not," the priest chuckled and looked over at the door, "the sun has set, let's get going to the festivities, Christopher." The boy nodded enthusiastically and followed Father Richard out the door.

They arrived at the main room of the Church and Christopher sat down in a pew and Father Richard, with ear plugs firmly in place and hidden, sat with the other clergymen. Once the prayers were over, Father Aaron discreetly tucked the ear plugs into his robe's pocket and joined everyone for the potluck buffet. Since the Church relied on donations from the people and money from the government, everyone from the town had to bring something for the buffet so there was always a lot to choose from. Chris grabbed a plate and joined the line up to get some food. He spotted the Father at the end of the line and called over to him, "Father Richard! Over here!" The priest left his spot in line to join the young boy. Chris watched as the Father put some food on his plate as he put some on his own; the vampire didn't seem to care what food he put on his plate and would grab random bits of food. Father Richard left to join with the priests and looked at Chris' forlorn face.

"Come along, Christopher, I'm sure the Bishop won't mind if it's just this once you join me," he called and the nine year nearly flew back to the vampiric priest's side. The other priests were shocked when the blonde boy sat down beside the priest.

"Aaron, is there any reason _why_ Christopher Michael is here?" A newer priest asked.

"I invited him over, he wanted to sit with me and it would be inappropriate for me to sit at a table alone with him," he answered, slightly off put by the fact the new priest dared to use his first name so informally.

The Bishop raised his hand at the young priest and shook his head before he could retaliate, "that's enough, Father Isaac, it is Christmas and if Christopher Michael wants to sit beside _Father Richard_ for dinner tonight, I will allow it." The old man looked at the boy, "but just this once."

Chris nodded vehemently, "yes, Bishop O'Bryan!" The Bishop laughed at the boy's enthusiasm and went back to his food.

One of the other priests noticed Father Richard picking at his plate and moving food around with his fork but not really eating anything. "Do vampires not have a sense of taste?" The man asked.

Father Richard shrugged, "I've never met a vampire but I would think not, they drink blood, not solid food. This would more than likely taste like cardboard to a vampire."

One of the older patrons of the church had been walking by and smacked the two priests' in the back of the head. "Such talk from holy men on the holiest night of the year! You should be ashamed!" She scolded and stormed off with her food, leaving the baffled priests to burst out laughing.

Chris looked at the priests, "vampires can't taste food?"

Father Richard shook his head, "normal food like this tastes like cardboard to them."

"Why would they eat normal food then if they can't taste it?" He asked.

"To be polite and to help them blend into human society better; people would get suspicious of someone who was rarely seen during the day and didn't eat. It wouldn't matter if he lived in the church or not, people would eventually get curious," Aaron answered. Chris nodded and saved whatever questions he had for after the dinner and everyone wasn't in such a small area.

After dinner, everyone returned to the main room and sat in the pews for the Christmas Service and once more Father Richard had his ear plugs in. Chris watched his favorite priest closely and noticed that he was indeed just mouthing the words and because he couldn't hear anything, he was sometimes off on his response; the priest beside him even had to secretly nudge him once because he hadn't been paying attention.

Once the service was over, Father Richard and Christopher walked to a quieter area of the yard to talk about whatever was on Chris' mind. They stopped under the familiar oak tree and Father Richard pulled out a small package wrapped in brightly colored, festive paper with a bright red bow on it, "Merry Christmas, Christopher."

The boy let out a cry of surprise and tore open the paper to reveal a little blue box. He carefully lifted the lid to see a sterling silver rosary with Mother of Pearl Hail Mary beads and Freshwater Pearl Our Father beads. The young child was speechless and continuously switched between looking at the priest and back at his gift. "How…" he didn't know how to finish his sentence. The wars made everyone poor, how could a simple priest-even a vampire one- afford such a gift?

"I didn't. It's something I picked up a while ago and kept it; boxes and wrapping paper are cheap," he smiled. Chris didn't bother asking anymore questions.

"I don't have anything for you, Father," he looked at the ground suddenly. The boy thought hard for a moment and suddenly wrapped his arms around the vampire's waist, "but this." He squeezed as tight as he could and buried his face in the man's robes, "Merry Christmas, Father Richard." The rest of the night passed with Chris sitting next to the priest, under his arm, snuggled up as close as he could get until he fell asleep. Never since living with Master had he felt to at peace.

Father Richard looked down at the boy and pulled out the ribbon in his hair and let it tumble around his face, "Merry Christmas, Chris."

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><p>Merry Christmas everyone!<p> 


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